Ahmad Shams Aldien Shaaban*(1) Ahmad Alhafez(2) Abdullah Al-Yousef(2) and Osama Al-Issa(3)
(1). Department of Biotechnology Engineering, Faculty of Technical Engineering, Aleppo University, Aleppo, Syria.
(2). Aleppo Research Center, General Community for Scientific Agricultural Research GCSAR, Damascus, Syria.
(3). General Organization of Seed Multiplication, Aleppo, Syria.
(*Corresponding author: Dr. Ahmad Shams Aldien Shaaban. E-Mail: Shaabany57@gamail.com).
Received: 08/03/2018 Accepted: 05/09/2018
Abstract
The study was conducted to compare the effect of supplemental irrigation levels on some productivity traits and water use efficiency of durum wheat variety “Cham 7”, and use SSM simulation model to study the effect of supplemental irrigation scenarios on water consumption and grain yield (GY). For that, the study was carried out in two steps: the first one was a field experiment with completely randomized block design with three replications during 2009/2010 and 2010/2011 seasons at Srbaya Research Station. Three treatments of supplemental irrigation were used i.e. 33%, 66% and 95%, in addition to the rainfed treatment as a control. Water balance and water consumption were estimated depended on neutron prop readings. Yield and its components were taken at maturity. The second step was a simulation study using SSM simulation model based on daily climatic data during the period 2001-2011. The irrigation water quantities were added at rain rate at three dates according to results of field experiment. The results of field experiment showed an increase in grain yield of 72% and 59% for each season when using supplemental irrigation at 95% compared with the control. Significant differences were found in grain yield, straw yield, biological yield and weight of thousand grains for the two studied years. In addition, simulation results showed an existence of high significant differences for the studied traits. Positive regression correlation was observed between water use efficiency and GY, and between transpiration efficiency and GY. In addition, results showed that the supplemental irrigation subscribes to increase the grain yield of durum wheat crop in percentages 23.7, 40.7 and 49.2%, with increase of evapotranspiration values in a values of 21.8, 39.3 and 52% for treatments 33%, 66% and 95% respectively compared to the control (rainfed), and the increasing ratio of evaporation did not exceed 7.5% in extremes. When these ratios were transformed on country level, the adding of supplemental irrigation will increase national production of durum wheat about 201, 339 and 407 thousand tons for treatments 33%, 66% and 95% respectively compared with the control (rainfed).
Key Words: Simulation, Supplemental irrigation, Water balance, Evaporation, Transpiration Efficiency, Grain yield, Durum wheat.
Full paper in Arabic: PDF